


Masquerade Man

by Crazy_Pairing_Person



Category: Penguins of Madagascar
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Drama & Romance, Falling In Love, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2015-11-07
Packaged: 2018-04-30 11:56:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5162972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazy_Pairing_Person/pseuds/Crazy_Pairing_Person
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kowalski meets a man at a masquerade party. The man doesn't speak, but Kowalski is drawn to him nonetheless. Even though Kowalski has no idea who he is, he can't shake the feeling that he's someone who already knows Kowalski, perhaps someone who has been interested in Kowalski for a while... The man leaves him with nothing but an email address, so the two end up talking online. Kowalski is desperate to find out who he is, but the man seems just as desperate to make sure that Kowalski doesn't know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Masquerade Man

"Are you sure you don't want to come, Rico?" Kowalski asked, adjusting his mask a bit.

"Ahm fine" Rico said, waving a dismissive hand. Kowalski shrugged.

"Suit yourself. Are you two ready to go?" he asked, turning to Private and Skipper. The two were wearing their own masks, Private seeming shy and nervous despite his grin, while Skipper simply shrugged, even though they could tell he was excited to go to the Masquerade Party as well.

So they left, tossing goodbyes back to Rico, and started to walk down the street. It wasn't that far of a walk to where the party was being held, so they simply exchanged small talk as they approached. When they entered the venue, they were immediately approached by Julien wearing an ostentatious mask, covered in gold sequins and a rainbow of feathers.

"Haha, welcome strangers! I do not know where the host of the party, Julien is! He is lost among the crowd of masked strangers!" Julien said, gesturing wildly. The three men weren't sure if he was just bad at acting or if he really believed that no one could tell it was him. Most likely both, they thought. Still, they decided to humor him.

"You should tell him that this looks amazing, if you find him" Kowalski said. Julien beamed, clearly pleased thinking that they couldn't recognize him. So they moved on, Private tugging Skipper to the dance floor, while Kowalski headed towards the punch.

The scientist watched everyone dancing, a small smile on his lips. He was sure that most of the people weren't sure who they were dancing with, while others had probably come with each other. He managed to spot Private and Skipper through the crowd of strangers, the younger's mask allowing his blush to show slightly. Skipper didn't really seem to know what to do as he just moved along with the beat, his eyes locked on the younger male. Kowalski really was going insane watching those two day to day, not understanding why they just couldn't come out and admit their feelings.

His thoughts were broken when he was tapped on the shoulder. He turned to face a masked man, who simply smiled charmingly and held his hand out. It took him a moment to realize that the man was asking if he wanted to dance.

"S-sorry, I'm not much of a dancer" he said, trying to be as quiet as he could while still being heard over the music. The man shrugged and pointed to a door that was made of clear glass. Through it, Kowalski could see a beautiful fountain in the midst of a garden. He gave the man a small smile, deciding to humor him. He nodded, holding his own hand out now. The man took it in his own, and they walked out to sit on a bench to watch the water.

"That's an interesting mask you have" Kowalski said as a way to make conversation. The man simply smiled and tapped Kowalski's mask in response.

"Um, thank you? Are... Are you going to talk at all?"

The man appeared to think about it, then shook his head.

"Are you mute?"

The man shrugged, moving his hand in a way that Kowalski interpreted as 'Maybe, kind of'.

"So you just don't want to talk" Kowalski said, making an 'Are you kidding me' type face behind his mask. The stranger nodded, flashing a charming smile. Before Kowalski could decide whether or not he wanted to stay here with a silent man, said man pulled out a red rose from his jacket and gave it to Kowalski. He took it, silently thanking all that was good in the world that, unlike Private, he had a mask that hid his blush well enough.

"Th-thank you"

The man simply nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Can I at least ask your name?"

The man immediately shook his head no. Kowalski sighed in disappointment.

"Well, can I ask what your hobbies are? You could mime if you wanted to"

The man considered it, then shook his head again.

"You don't have any hobbies or you don't want to tell me what your hobbies are?"

The man smiled and nodded again.

"Well, you won't stop me from telling you about myself, will you?"

The man shrugged and made a 'Go ahead' motion with his hands. Kowalski sighed.

"Well, where to begin? I can't tell you much about my job, honestly. I live with my three best friends, Rico, Skipper, and Private. I'm very much interested in science - I'm a scientist, actually. Rico likes to help me with my work, sometimes. I always get him to help if an experiment involves explosions of some sort, because he's a bit of a pyromaniac. Skipper's less about fiery explosions, and more about action and ass-kicking. Private's not that interested in any of that though, he's more about peace and harmony and childish things such as that"

Kowalski paused, making sure that the man was still listening before continuing.

"Skipper and Private are rather blatantly in love, if you ask me. I don't know much about romance, to be honest, given my past - Which I'll not go into right now - But I do know that I'll pull my hair out if I have to hear them dancing around their feelings, while they talk about dinner or what movie to watch 'next time all four of us hang out', even though we hang out _every day_  considering we live with each other"

The man seemed amused, listening to Kowalski rant about his friends.

"And Rico... He's Rico. A bit of an enigma, but... A charming enigma, I must admit. If not for his penchant with explosions I'm sure he could have a place in the more delicate arts of science, too. I think you would like to meet him, actually. He likes people who don't make him talk"

As Kowalski described his closest friend, the man's face seemed to soften. The mysterious stranger opened his mouth, and Kowalski eagerly waited for his bizarre date to speak his first words of the evening...

Only to have the mood interrupted when said date's phone went off, buzzing with some alarm in his pocket. Kowalski watched, amused but disappointed as the man frantically grabbed his phone, checking what exactly it was and turning off the alarm. He gave Kowalski an apologetic look, and he didn't need words to communicate the message.

"You have to go now?"

The man nodded solemnly, and passed the scientist a piece of paper with writing on it. Kowalski realized that the 'stranger' must have planned this, must have known he would be here tonight. How else would he have known to write down his email address ahead of time?

"I'll see you later then..."

Kowalski looked at the man pointedly, waiting for him to finally say something, anything. All he got was the man leaning over and pressing a kiss to Kowalski's cheek.

The scientist swore he must have blacked out then. One minute, his puzzling date was standing there in front of him, a less than three inches away, and the next thing he knew, the man was already out the front door, leaving Kowalski standing there in front of the fountain, clutching the email address in his hand.


End file.
